World Cup Security Took Their Sweet Time Apprehending the Guy Who Ran Out onto the Field During USA-Belgium (Pics + Videos + GIFs)

Apparently the Brazilian organizers of the 2014 FIFA World Cup put so much time and effort preparing for protestors outside the stadiums, they didn’t have much time left over to train security staff on how to deal with protesters inside the stadiums.

We know this because the dude who ran onto the field during yesterday’s big USA-Belgium game in Salvador ran around for an entire minute before security was like, ugh, fine, we’ll go get him.

It was pretty hilarious:

USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann was not impressed with the effort. Philadelphia Eagles security would have had this guy tackled and hog-tied in 20 seconds or less.

Of course, there is another possible explanation for why security wasn’t quick to apprehend the invader. He may or may not have been a drunken idiot (I wasn’t there to personally administer a breathalyzer test), but he did have a political message:

That “# Save Favelas Children” thing is a reference to the children who live in Brazilian slums, or favelas, who were not helped at all by the billions of dollars the Brazilian government spent on hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

And the “# Ciro Vive” thing is a reference to a Napoli fan named Ciro Esposito who was allegedly shot by a Roma fan prior to the Italian Cup final back in May. He died last Wednesday.

As for the man wearing the slogans, his name is Mario Ferri, and it seems he’s a serial offender. He also ran onto the field during the semifinal match between Spain and Germany in 2010.

Whether Ferri himself is an activist or simply a guy people pay to run onto the field with their slogans remains to be seen.